《论自由·第二章·思想与讨论的自由》第14节
Aware of the impossibility of defending the use of punishment for restraining irreligious opinions, by any argument which will not justify Marcus Antoninus, the enemies of religious freedom, when hard pressed, occasionally accept this consequence, and say, with Dr. Johnson, that the persecutors of Christianity were in the right; that persecution is an ordeal through which truth ought to pass, and always passes successfully, legal penalties being, in the end, powerless against truth, though sometimes beneficially effective against mischievous errors. This is a form of the argument for religious intolerance, sufficiently remarkable not to be passed without notice.
注释摘要
密尔在这一段中处理的，是支持压制言论自由的人退守到的一条奇特防线。他的论证推进到了对手已难以正面否认其历史案例的关键点。他之前详细给出了三个震撼的例子：苏格拉底被雅典的民主法庭处死，耶稣各各他被钉上十字架，还有那位几乎被公认为异教世界道德巅峰的罗马皇帝马尔库斯·奥勒留，居然去镇压基督教。这些案例的力度在于，每一个迫害者都真诚相信他们镇压的思想是危险的错误。…